The Panthers found an edge defender, in Oregon DE/LB DJ Johnson.
The Panthers traded up from 93 overall to 80 in the 3rd round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and they did so to address a need on the edge. He has played tight end, defensive line, and linebacker in his collegiate career and settled on outside linebacker/edge for Oregon in 2021. He stayed there in 2022, and logged 6 sacks, 39 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, and 2 pass breakups.
DJ Johnson is the kind of versatile athlete that seems to be a consistent theme in Scott Fitterer’s philosophy when drafting defensive players.